How to: Let Out a Skirt

I found this skirt at the GoodBuys 99 Cent store in Albuquerque.

I would have paid a dollar, but was half off so I only had to pay 50 cents for it! I figured it was worth the money. I like the overall make, and the fabric is sturdy and in good condition, but it was just too tight around my waist. After inspecting it carefully, I decided it would be a good opportunity to try my hand at letting out a skirt, especially since I pretty much only ever alter things that are 5 sizes too big.

Here is what I did:

1.  First, I used a seam ripper to remove the belt loops in the front of the skirt since I didn't like how they looked and I knew I would never wear a belt with this skirt. I had to unstitch the seam that connects the waistband to the skirt (just around the belt loop) since the loops were actually sewn into the skirt, not just on top of it. Once I pulled out the loops in the front, I top-stitched back over the opening I had made. 

2.  Next I ripped out the seams attaching the waistband to the skirt in the back, starting from the zipper to all the way past the darts and the belt loop (again to remove the loop). You can see here that there is extra length (about 1/2") at each end of the waist band, this is what will give the the extra room to let out the skirt and tells me how much I can let it out. 

 

3.  I turned the skirt inside out and following the seam of the original dart, sewed a new seam, about 1/4" closer to the edge of the skirt. Then I ripped out the original dart seam, pressed flat the new dart, and repeated this step with the dart on the other side of the zipper. This gave me an extra 1/2" on each side of the skirt (the amount of extra waistband I had, as shown above). 

4.  I then pinned the skirt back onto the waistband. As you can see from the picture, there is no longer the extra length at the end of the waistband, but it matches up exactly with the end of the skirt. and, following the original seam, top-stitched to secure the skirt and waistband together. 

5.  Next, I removed the buttons, moved them about an inch to the left and sewed them back on.

6.  I gave the skirt a good press, and tah-dah! A 50 cent skirt that fits!